


Always Protect the Face

by Animedemon01



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:54:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animedemon01/pseuds/Animedemon01
Summary: Carmen attempts to teach Zack and Ivy how to fight.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26
Collections: Carmen Sandiego Prompt Challenge





	Always Protect the Face

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [aftersundown](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aftersundown/pseuds/aftersundown) in the [Carmen_Sandiego_Prompt_Challenge](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Carmen_Sandiego_Prompt_Challenge) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Carmen shares her knowledge of martial arts with Zack and Ivy through some exciting lessons at HQ, so that the siblings are better equipped for the field.

“Come on, Carm, Shadow-San said you could teach us how to fight.” Begged Zack. “We really should learn if we’re gonna take down VILE, and he said he’s too busy to train us.”

“We won’t always be able to rely on you to save us.” Added Ivy. “We need to know how to save ourselves.”

Ivy had recently got it in her head that she and Zack needed to learn to fight in order to take down VILE. Zack, on the other hand, had never forgotten about his dream of ninja training. They had asked Shadow-San countess times to train them, as he seemed to have a lot of free time on his hands, but he always claimed to be busy. Eventually he’d gotten sick of their constant asking and told them to ask Carmen instead.

Carmen had considered teaching Zack and Ivy some of the things she learned at VILE academy just in case they were in a situation where she couldn’t protect them but had never gotten around to it. Now, seeing as VILE wasn’t being particularly active at the moment (their biggest heist involved destroying a lab that had stolen some of Bellum’s research, but the people they were after weren’t much better that VILE themselves, so Carmen saw no reason to get involved), she finally had time.

“Alright, I guess I can teach you two some techniques since we don’t have much else going on.” She told them. “But its going to have to wait until after lunch.”

“Can we get McDonalds?” Asked Zack. “We shouldn’t waste energy cooking since we’re gonna need it for training.”

“We’ll order out, but no fast food.” Said Carmen. “Before training you need to eat something healthy, and not a greasy hamburger. How about we order from that vegan place right down the road?”

Zack groaned. Vegan food was almost as bad as fish.

“So, when are we going to learn how to do that thing where you grab a guys arm and flip him over your shoulder?” Asked Zack. “I wanna know all the tricks for using your opponent’s strength against them.”

Carmen let out an annoyed sigh. She knew she’d have to deal with Zack’s hyperactivity and inability to be serious, but this was a lot more than she’d expected. From the second he’d finished eating (which was long before Carmen and Ivy were done) he’d been begging her to show him how to do all her moves and asking about how realistic the techniques he’d seen in action movies were.

“Before you learn a good offence, you need to have a good defense.” She told him. “Pop quiz; what did I learn at VILE academy that keeps me safe, but a lot of VILE’s operatives seem to forget?”

“Always protect the face!” Replied the two siblings in unison.

“Correct, and why is it so important to do that?”

“Because your face has all those weak bones in it and if it gets hit too hard, you’ll end up looking all messed up!” Said Zack. “Plus, it hurts a lot.”

Ivy smacked her brother lightly. “Zack, you idiot, why would VILE care if they had some operatives with messed up faces? You protect the face because that’s where your eyes and ears are, and you need to constantly have your sight and hearing to win a fight.”

Carmen gave a nod. “That’s pretty much it. If you two haven’t guessed, I’m going to start by teaching you two a couple of blocks to protect your face, and more about the importance of remembering to do so.

“I think we’re going to start with a block that involves using your elbow. Its simple enough, so I feel I can teach you in an afternoon. Zack, you want to help me demonstrate?”

“Sure, Carm, what do you need me to do?”

“Try and punch me in the face.” She instructed.

“Are you sure?” He asked. “I mean, you’re my boss and all.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll block it just fine.” She assured him. “Just come and try to punch me in the face.”

Carmen was like family to Zack; he didn’t want to punch her. Sure, he’d hit Ivy before when they got into spats, but that was different. They’d always fought physically; ever since they were kids. That’s just how siblings were.

He sighed. “Fine, but only because you told me to. I don’t like to hit the people I love; except for Ivy, but that’s different.”

Zack ran at Carmen, attempting to punch her in the face. As expected, she knocked him right back with her elbow.

“Damn, you knocked him back like it was nothing!” Exclaimed Ivy.

“I want to do it next!” Said Zack. “Ivy, come and try to hit me in the face.”

“Wait, let me show you exactly how I did it!” Yelled Carmen.

But she was too late. Zack attempted to block Ivy’s punch the same way Carmen had, but don’t completely grasp the mechanics of the block. She got him right in the eye, almost knocking him to the floor.

“Zack, are you okay?” Gasped Carmen. “I didn’t show you the complete technique yet; its not exactly how it looks.”

He shrugged. “I think so. Does my eye look too bad?”

Ivy’s punch had given him quite the black eye, and Carmen could tell it was going to swell up later on, even if it was properly taken care off.

“It ain’t pretty.” Said Ivy. “Sorry, bro.”

Carmen sighed. “Ivy, go get your brother an ice pack; we’ll continue this tomorrow.”

Teach the siblings how to fight was going to be more work than she’d expected.

**Author's Note:**

> He y'all, I haven't really had the energy to write this week, but I'll try to start on the next chapter of Scar's Don't Fade and the other prompt I'm gonna fill. School's just been a lot this week, and I worked a lot more than normal this weekend.
> 
> As always, feedback makes the author happy.


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